Entries from December 2007
While you’re busy celebrating New Year’s Eve, some folks have been busy checking the latest batch of poll numbers. Here’s an excellent summary of some of the key findings:
Nomination At A Glance: Down To The Wire
With only one week to go, money doesn’t matter right now. All the campaign events have been scheduled, all the staff has been hired, and all of the ad buys have been purchased. Further, polling in states after New Hampshire don’t matter right now either, since the first two states will scramble everything. All that matters is Iowa, how Iowa will impact New Hampshire, and [...]
And, here is an updated summary of where things stand in Iowa, beyond the polls:
Obama’s Campaign Nervous + C.S. About Iraq
The polls show that Obama has peaked in Iowa and has nowhere to go but down. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) has endorsed Hillary Clinton, the 10th U.S. Senator to do so. And Obama’s campaign is showing signs that it’s nervous, edgy, and has “a whiff of desperation.” John Edwards is hitting Obama hard on his [...]
Tags: 2008 Election, Iowa Caucuses
Categories: 2008 Election
Sure, there are some “success stories” from Iraq, Sure, there are areas where overwhelming pressure from U.S. troops has led to a reduction in violence. But, when you back away and look at the “big picture”, the numbers don’t look quite as positive:
2007 Deadliest Year For U.S. Troops In Iraq
Four years and eight months after the mission was accomplished in Iraq, 2007 ends as: “…the deadliest for the U.S. military since the 2003 invasion, with 899 troops killed.” But apparently this is good news, since fatalities have decreased in recent months, with only 21 U.S. troops and 710 Iraqi civilians killed in December. This brings the total U.S. fatalities for Bush’s fiasco to 3,902. And the Iraqis, now that someone has decided to count their deaths? [...]
Tags: Bush Administration, Iraq
Categories: Bush Administration · Iraq War
Okay, conspiracy buffs. Time to line up and chime in with your best thinking on the question of whether Benazir Bhutto was assassinated and, if so, is there a governmental coverup.
New Video Footage Shows Bhutto Was Shot
Britain’s Channel 4 News has acquired video footage of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination that appears to establish that Ms. Bhutto was shot before the suicide bomber exploded his device. You can see the footage in [...]
UPDATE: Now, there are rumors that the Pakistani military was involved. Surprised?
UPDATE 2: More Questions Of Pakistani Government Pressure Regarding Bhutto’s Death
More questions are being raised about pressures from the Musharraf government influencing the medical reports on the Bhutto assassination. Via the NYTimes: New details of Benazir Bhutto’s final moments, including indications that her doctors felt pressured to conform to government accounts of her death, fueled the arguments over her assassination on Sunday and added to the pressure on Pakistan’s leaders to accept an international inquiry [.... ]
Tags: Bhutto
Categories: Pakistan
This pretty much counters every other trend we’ve seen in the past couple of days…
Obama Breaks Out In Iowa
At least that’s what it looks like in the latest DMR poll: Obama 32, Clinton 25, Edwards 2: In an indication of the Obama’s appeal in Iowa, Democratic caucusgoers say they prefer change and unity over other leadership characteristics. Selecting [...]
New Des Moines Register Poll: Obama Widens Lead Over Clinton
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has widened his lead in Iowa over Hillary Clinton and John Edwards heading into Thursday’s nominating caucuses, according to The Des Moines Register’s final Iowa Poll before the 2008 nominating contests. Obama’s rise is the result in part of [...]
Tags: Iowa Caucuses, Obama
Categories: 2008 Election · Obama
Now, they’re going too far. The recording industry is just getting too greedy. Frankly, haven’t you done this? Hasn’t anybody with a CD collection and computer done it, to some degree?
We’re All Crooks
The recording industry now says it’s a crime for you to copy songs from your own CDs onto your own personal computer [....]
Tags: CD’s, Music, Computers
Categories: Entertainment
I’ve long disliked the Electoral College system of electing a President. There are a couple of intriguing changes floating around right now, including this one that truly seems to have potential and would not require a change to the constitution.
Dropping Out of Electoral College
A Stanford University computer scientist named John Koza has formulated a compelling and pragmatic alternative to the Electoral College. It’s called National Popular Vote (NPV), and has been hailed as “ingenious” by two New York Times editorials. In April, Maryland became the first state to pass it into law. And several other states, including Illinois and New Jersey, are likely to follow suit. How NPV works is this:[...]
Tags: Electoral College, National Popular Vote
Categories: Politics
Really think about it. Isn’t the American political system pretty well broken? I don’t know how you change it, but it’s become all about money. I thought the idea was that anybody could be elected to national office. Now, you don’t have a chance unless you can come up with the $$$$$.
The Real Story
The real story is not about Obama and Edwards trading surges, Hillary rebounding, or the likely determining factor of the Biden and Richardson supporters’ second choices. The real story is not about the weather facilitating turnout for Hillary, or the passion of Obama’s youth vote, or Edwards’s solid ground game with likely caucus goers. The real story has nothing to do with the candidates or the horse race or the volatility of the polls. The real story is [...]
Tags: 2008 Election
Categories: 2008 Election · Politics
You can look at the polls, but they really don’t mean all that much. A lot of caucus-goers in Iowa still haven’t made up their minds about who they want to see as president. So, it may come down to who generates the most excitement. Right now, that seems to be the democrats.
Dem Voter Excitement Scares Republican Party
As presidential hopefuls from both parties rally support across Iowa ahead of Thursday’s caucuses, Democratic voters are showing greater fervor for the race than their Republican counterparts, a difference that could have repercussions throughout the 2008 campaign. At its simplest, [...]
Tags: 2008 Election, Iowa Caucuses
Categories: 2008 Election
Huckabee. Gonna do it. Not gonna do it. Sincere? Or shrewd strategy?
Huckabee locks, loads, then holds fire on Romney
…He called a press conference to unveil a new ad that attacked his principal attacker, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Huckabee was really going let the Mitt hit the fan. Then, in one of the stranger moments of the campaign, Huckabee came forward — cameras flashing, trailing his every step — to say that he [...]
Tags: 2008 Election, Huckabee, Romney
Categories: 2008 Election · Huckabee · Romney
It is the night of champagne, toasts and old friends. For our home, it will be as usual the past few years, an early toast after some appetizers spaced throughout the evening. We seldom make it all the way to midnight, particularly when we know we’ll be up at an early hour on New Year’s Day for a 10:30 am Cotton Bowl! Peas are soaking so we can put a big pot of Black Eyed Peas and ham on to cook first thing in the morning. It’s a Southern Tradition to guarantee good luck for the year. I’ll try to slide a few posts up this evening and a few more tomorrow afternoon and evening. But, overall, the blogosphere appears to be quieter than usual today.
Polls, Polls & More Polls
We’re down to the wire now, as the Iowa caucus is just a few short days away and the pollsters are reverberating off the charts with a wide variety of results. The latest McClatchy-MSNBC Poll is here to your left. It gives John Edwards a bit of the edge in the Democratic field, as he [...]
Huckabee Signed ‘USA Today’ Ad Backing Idea of Wife as ‘Servant’
Mike Huckabee and his wife, Janet, in 1988 signed a full-page ad in USA Today backing the idea of the wife in any marriage serving as a “servant” in relation to her husband. Then-Gov. Huckabee was one of 131 signatories on [...]
“We Cannot Recognize Our Country”
“There are too many moments these days when we cannot recognize our country.” The New York Times lead editorial today echoes what millions of Americans must be feeling as this awful year comes to a close. It was year of self recognition, when Americans finally realized America can no longer pretend to be a [...]
And, for good measure, the “quote of the weekend”. And, surprisingly, it’s not from Mike Huckabee!
Thompson: “Not Particularly Interested In Running For President”
…Yesterday several journalists traveling with Thompson wrote stories about a response that Thompson gave to a ‘fire in the belly’ question. According to a transcript of the answer posted on the campaign’s website Saturday night, Thompson’s response included this line, along with a longer explanation about why it is unfair to criticize his desire to president: [...]
Tags: 2008 Election, Huckabee, thompson
Categories: 2008 Election · Huckabee · Thompson
As usual for the holiday weekend, some random links I’m seeing while watching a bit of TV.
The ironic twists and turns of the torture tapes
As it turns out, the reasoning behind the CIA’s decision to record interrogations on video, stop recording interrogations on video, and destroy the interrogation videos was all exactly the same: officials were hoping to avoid a public-relations nightmare. If Abu Zubaydah, a senior operative of Al Qaeda, died in American hands, Central Intelligence Agency officers pursuing [...]
Huckabee flip flops on immigration again: Now he wants to send “children back to Mexico, but then says not really” Huh?
OK, so Huck is flopping around on immigration because the hard core wingnut base of the GOP doesn’t like his stance on giving kids that were born in the country some protections because they are US citizens. And he said that if all illegal immigrants were deported. the American economy would [...]
McCain Now #1 In National Polls
For the first time all year, Arizona Senator John McCain finds himself on top with support from 17% of Likely Republican Primary Voters. In the muddled GOP race, McCain becomes the third person to top the poll this month and the fourth since October. But his lead is statistically insignificant–Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are [...]
Tags: Bush Administration, CIA, Terrorists
Categories: 2008 Election · Bush Administration · Terrorism
Made it to Sunday night. Whipped up a batch of really good chili tonight, but continue to wonder where Christmas went. I was running errands today, and happened to stumble upon the Christmas music channel on Sirius. They were playing some of the old standards, the songs we played at home when I was growing up. We played a lot of music back then, and leisurely got into the Christmas season. There seemed to be time to accomplish everything, and save time to enjoy the season. Again this year, around here, everything else seemed to take priority, the decorating was rushed and minimal, and I’ll be darned if I’m taking lights and the tree down this weekend, just because others are doing just that. Next year, I’ll try harder to make it more like it once was. No matter what it takes.
Meanwhile, there is much going on.
Did Bhutto Martyr Herself?
What would you say about a politician who refused to tolerate sensible security measures just a few weeks after a major assassination attempt came within a hair’s breadth of killing her [...]
Tags: Pakistan
Categories: Pakistan
Happy Holidays! Here’s a small collection of linkage to give you something to do while watching the “big game” tonight.
Just how bad is it on Wall Street?
…Citi has more bad news, with rumors of 5-10% of the workforce being cut (10% is roughly 32,000 jobs!) and Bank of America won’t deny reports of trimming the budget by removing soup, yes soup, from the cafeteria. They also have not denied the report that says they are no longer providing soap in [...]
Republican Thought Process
This dialog is actual and fictional too, but not far fetched. Gov. Huckabee: “In light of what happened in Pakistan yesterday, it’s interesting that there are more Pakistanis who have illegally crossed the border than of any other nationality except for those immediately south of our border,” Reporter: Gov. Huckabee, how so masterfully you tied the assassination of opposition leader in Pakistan, [...]
Dumbest. Legal Argument. Ever.
It’s hardly a secret that the Bush administration has treated the rule of law as some kind of punch line for the better part seven years now, but Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick has done the political world a tremendous service by documenting the “Administration’s Top 10 Stupidest Legal Arguments of 2007.” Now, if you’re like me, you [...]
Another Interesting Poll
At the risk of proving that I was the only one who didn’t already know this, I just read today about a poll that is a bit different than any I’ve known of before. Some 2,000 people are being tracked on a continuing basis to determine their reaction to the primary candidates and their campaigning. One [...]
Rate Of Suicide Bombs Rises in Iraq
Figures supplied at Gen. David Petraeus’s year-end briefing to journalists “showed a slight rise in suicide car and vest bombs since October.” Petraeus also emphasized that recent security gains in Iraq are “reversible.” “Although the security situation has improved this year, U.S. commanders have been careful not to declare victory after years in which their [...]
New Iowa Poll Gives Leads to Clinton, Romney
Categories: Uncategorized
It’s really hard to believe that 2007 is nearly over. This is another of those weekends that pretty much stretches through the New Year’s holiday for many. Everybody around our place has been sending a cough/sneeze/fever bug back and forth for more than a week. So, my energy level isn’t up to snuff. Noted in a quick scan of the cable news folks over coffee this morning that they’re still rioting in Pakistan, still working toward the caucuses in Iowa and it’s still winter in several parts of the country.
I’ll regain the energy to do some blog scanning tonight or tomorrow, hopefully. Assuming, of course, that my foray into cooking what the recipe promises is “The Perfect Southern Fried Chicken” tonight is successful. If it doesn’t turn out that good, I’ll be forced to banish myself to the backyard. Keep checking back. I’ll surprise you with some linkage soon.
Categories: Arkansas
They shot up 10 cents a gallon in my nieghborhood overnight. Looks like the national trend is the same, and it’s not going to get much better anytime soon. Ugh.
Gas Prices Back At $3 A Gallon
Gas prices rose back to $3 a gallon at the pump Friday, following rising oil futures on concerns about tight inventories and potential supply disruptions. Meanwhile, light, sweet crude for February delivery [...]
Tags: Economy, Gas Prices
Categories: Consumer · Economy
December 28, 2007 · 1 Comment
I spent 30+ years in television news. I continue to watch the industry closely. I can’t recall EVER seeing an apology this detailed and, well, apologetic. Usually, it’s a line or two and you get it over as quickly as you can. Obviously, this “ooops” demanded more details. By the way, in the interest of full disclosure, I worked for the station involved for 11 years.
KARK issues apology for mentioning Conley’s name
KARK-TV issued an apology for reporting that former Arkansas track star Mike Conley was involved in the purchase of a car for Razorbacks running back Darren McFadden: Yesterday KARK Channel 4 and the Razorback Nation reported that the University of Arkansas is looking into a compliance issue involving Darren McFadden. The story centers around a new [...]
Tags: Arkansas Razorbacks, Darren McFadden, Cotton Bowl
Categories: Arkansas · Sports
I’m honestly puzzled over this move by the President. It seems that he’s listening more to the Iraqi government than to his own Congress and the American people.
Bush to veto pay raise for the troops. Merry Christmas!
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Bush announced today that he’s going to veto the Defense Authorization bill. This is legislation that’s already passed Congress, and that the administration had no problem with. Now, suddenly, Bush is against it and is going to veto it, threatening pay raises for the troops and more. Part of what troubled Bush about the legislation is that it would permit US troops to [...]
Tags: Bush Administration, Defense Spending, Iraq
Crossposted at http://www.ivoter08.com and The Krile Files
Categories: Bush Administration · Military
